Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a relatively unknown wildlife refuge located on the Pecos River near Roswell, New Mexico. Because I am from Roswell, I grew up going to Bitter Lake on a regular basis. Last weekend I went to Roswell to visit with some friends, and of course I couldn’t wait to make a trip out to the refuge. Bitter Lake is a winter home to many Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese and other winter migrants. I posted earlier this year about my trip to Bitter Lake in February.

I was surprised by the number of Black-necked Stilts that were at the refuge this past weekend. It appeared that there were at least 100 of them in the ponds. I had a lovely time watching and photographing them.

There were other birds present as well, although many of them were in areas that were too far away for photographs. I am accustomed to seeing White-faced Ibis there, and I love the way that the sun highlights their plumage.

White-faced Ibis

There were lots of Killdeer running around, and I was disappointed that I did not see any little fluffy chicks.

Killdeer

Red-winged Blackbirds sang from the marshy edges of the ponds.

Red-winged Blackbird

Western Meadowlarks sang in the grass.

Western Meadowlark

I was interested to see Turkey Vultures walking around near one of the ponds.

Turkey Vulture

And it is always a delight to see Great Egrets.

Great Egret

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a very different place in summer than it is in winter. It is a lovely place to visit any time of year.

27 responses to “A Return to Bitter Lake”

Thank you Scott. They are lovely, elegant birds. They breed in summer as far north as Montana, I think, but that’s still pretty far south of where you are. You’re just going to have to plan that trip to NM!

Thank you Cynthia. It’s always fun to get photos of some different birds. I’d not had an opportunity to photograph Black-necked Stilts very often, and I had lots of fun watching and photographing them.

Linda, that wildlife refuge looks like a lovely place to go birding. Terrific series of photographs! Love the elegant Black-necked Stilt captures, especially the in-flight shots. I think I could spend all day enjoying the wildlife at a lovely lake like that. Awesome!